Newport home dedicated on World Habitat Day

Serita Brewington holds up the keys to her new Habitat for Humanity home after receiving them from Leonard Farrugia, construction coordinator, as her son, Jaylyn, looks on during a home dedication on Monday in Newport.

Ken Buday/Havelock News

By Ken Buday, Halifax Media Services

Published: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 02:18 PM.

NEWPORT — When Serita Brewington gets unpacked and settles in to her new Habitat for Humanity home, she knows the first thing she’s going to do.

“I’m just going to lie in the middle of the floor and wave my arms like those angel wings you make in the snow,” Brewington said. “And, I’m just going to say ‘home sweet home.’”

Brewington received the keys to her new house during a Habitat Home Dedication Ceremony on Monday at 238 Oscar Hill Road in Newport. She will move into the new house with her son Jaylyn, who turns 13 on Thursday, and son David, who is 4.

“I’m just thankful, so thankful,” she said. “This couldn’t be a better day.”

Brewington had been living with her mother, and previously, had been living in a two-bedroom apartment. Now, she’ll own a home that has become the 87th constructed by Crystal Coast Habitat for Humanity, which covers Carteret and Onslow counties.

She officially received the keys from Leonard Farrugia of Carolina Crawlspace Solutions, who served as construction coordinator of the project. Brewington paused several times when asked to speak to those at the dedication, choking back tears.

“I’m thankful and so excited,” she said. “When he handed me those keys, that’s when reality set in.”

NEWPORT — When Serita Brewington gets unpacked and settles in to her new Habitat for Humanity home, she knows the first thing she’s going to do.

“I’m just going to lie in the middle of the floor and wave my arms like those angel wings you make in the snow,” Brewington said. “And, I’m just going to say ‘home sweet home.’”

Brewington received the keys to her new house during a Habitat Home Dedication Ceremony on Monday at 238 Oscar Hill Road in Newport. She will move into the new house with her son Jaylyn, who turns 13 on Thursday, and son David, who is 4.

“I’m just thankful, so thankful,” she said. “This couldn’t be a better day.”

Brewington had been living with her mother, and previously, had been living in a two-bedroom apartment. Now, she’ll own a home that has become the 87th constructed by Crystal Coast Habitat for Humanity, which covers Carteret and Onslow counties.

She officially received the keys from Leonard Farrugia of Carolina Crawlspace Solutions, who served as construction coordinator of the project. Brewington paused several times when asked to speak to those at the dedication, choking back tears.

“I’m thankful and so excited,” she said. “When he handed me those keys, that’s when reality set in.”

Brewington worked 400 hours to help build the house, while volunteers from the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Marine Unit at Cherry Point provided the bulk of the heavy-lifting needed to construct it.

Lt. Col. Jaime L. Gutierrez, CNATT commanding officer, said 136 of his personnel volunteered more than 1,070 hours since April in constructing the house.

“That was a lot of work for these guys on top of their mission, so I applaud them for that,” he said.

Sgt. Bradley Hoover of CNATT came to Monday’s dedication with one more task to perform on the house. He mounted a flag pole and put up an American flag on the side.

“I think it looks great,” Hoover said of the house. “I’m happy the Brewington family is finally going to get to enjoy it. A lot of Marines put a lot of sweat into building it, and I could not be happier.”

He said the hardest part for the CNATT volunteers was putting on the roof.

“That was a bad day,” he said. “A lot of them came home beat that day.”

Still, he said the Marines and sailors wouldn’t trade all of the effort it took to build the house.

“We’re happy to give back to the community,” Hoover said. “They support us so much in what we do. It’s just our way of giving back.”

Steve Moody, president of the Crystal Coast Habitat Board of Directors, presented the Brewingtons with a family Bible.

“It is a day to truly rejoice,” he said.

Kris Dunham, executive director of Crystal Coast Habitat, said the dedication Monday was specifically timed to coincide with World Habitat Day. She thanked all those who made the organization’s 87th home dedication possible.

“It takes a whole community to get to this point,” she said. “And a whole lot of Marines and sailors, too.”